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Whole 30

So I posted a lot of workout posts, and then I did it for a week and quit. I wanted to break that for Whole 30. I wanted to do Whole 30, and then if I succeeded I’d laud it over the internet. If I failed I’d hide in shame all on my own.

If you’re unsure what Whole 30 is, basically you can’t eat anything. That’s a lie, or exaggeration, but imagine the majority of what you’re eating (aside from I know I have followers with health blogs, and I’m sure your meals are beyond reproach) you can’t eat.

Now the purpose of the diet is to figure out what causes you issues. It may cause weight loss (mine did), but primarily, what are you allergic to? What does your body hate?

You cut out soy, dairy, any added sugar (you’d be amazed at how many things have dextrose, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, it was really a disgusting realization (he says as he just had McDonald’s for the first lunch off Whole 30 and immediately regretted it, or maybe after like ten minutes regretted it)), peanut products, wheat, grain, gluten, etc.

More or less, as a rule of thumb, you’re living off fresh vegetables, meat, and fruit (only two servings because they’re pretty high sugar). Not processed. You walked into a grocery store, picked it up, and cooked it with some olive oil.

I did this during Christmas. Think on that. Sausage pretty much all has sugar. Bacon mostly has sugar (why the hell do you need to add sugar to bacon?!). There are cookies, chocolates (I got chocolate at our White Elephant exchange, which I ate them yesterday), fudge, sweets of configurations you’ve never before even seen! Except you saw them last Christmas, you’re just still really curious why that’s the only time they show up. Eggnog. I gave up eggnog. Some people need to breathe. I need eggnog once a year, but that was foiled by no dairy.

Everything is cooked in butter. Everything store bought has sugar in it. Even the snacks, with sausage, cheese, and gluten free crackers (they use rice, which is a grain), were forbidden by the cruel Whole 30 overlord! And I resisted. I survived off insubstantial salad (I swear that’s what everyone thought I ate every day, and I only had it at family gatherings, without dressing, because the second or third ingredient of any store bought dressing is sugar).

I learned a lot about cooking. I took it slow, adding on more steps as I went. Most people would say what I ate was boring, but I thought it tasted good. I eventually reached a point of fajitas without the tortilla. I know, it sounds horrifying, but it was pretty tasty. Sauteed vegetables with meat is amazing, and there are a lot of veggies out there to saute.

So I write this from the other side. After having completed it, a resolution before the new year. I’m going to start working out after a trip next week, and try to keep that up regularly. Going back to Insanity, as the diet itself shed a few pounds, but ultimately I’ll need to work out to lose anything extra.

It’s a good start to the year, this conviction for health combined with the explosion of stories. I have five short stories and a novel slated for this year. Should be good. Hope your years are starting off awesome.

"Before the sea she stood, still as a statue but for the wind rippling in her loose lavender-grey dress and toying with her black hair - it billowed in the salty breath of the ocean like a flag of defiance."